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Sarkozy’s Lesson for Republicans

By Floyd Norris May 7, 2007 10:32 amMay 7, 2007 10:32 am

Jacques Chirac leaves office after two terms as France’s president, largely deemed a failure. He gets credit in France for standing up to President Bush over Iraq, but on the domestic front it was a time of drift, with efforts on reform collapsing as soon as protesters took to the streets. Voters rejected the European Union constitution he supported. He decided against seeking a third term only when polls made clear he could not win.

And yet, the new president, Nicolas Sarkozy, comes from Mr. Chirac’s party. He won with a strategy, over several years, of distancing himself from his onetime mentor. In the election, Mr. Chirac endorsed Mr. Sarkozy, but in a pro-forma manner that made clear he resented the man.

Mr. Sarkozy managed to portray himself as the un-Chirac while representing the same political party and having been part of Mr. Chirac’s government.

If President Bush’s poll numbers do not improve, the Sarkozy campaign could be studied by Republican candidates looking for a way to win in 2008.

The real loser is Hillary Clinton. Royal’s loss show women can’t win national elections by claiming it’s just their time. Impressed by the number of comments published in the NYT by French women who voted for Sarkozy for fundamental policy reasons.

The GOP will learn nothing from the French elections.
It will lose unless it really listens and performs for its base. The days of getting a free ballot box ride from the base simply by mouthing platitudes are dead and gone.

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